Professional Documents
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Communication Skills
Communication Skills
Day 1
Ice breaker Introduce your partner Joining the dots Free Speech Most Memorable Moment
Be clear Be load Use simple language Take feedback to confirm the listeners understanding.
Introduction : Tell them what you are going to tell them. Body : Tell them what you want to tell them.
Breathing
Say the following sentence breathing in after a word and adding a word before breathing in again till you complete the sentence.
I I can I can control I can control my I can control my breath I can control my breath and I can control my breath and sustain I can control my breath and sustain my I can control my breath and sustain my phrasing.
Breathing
I I can I can move I can move mountains I can move mountains and I can move mountains and oceans I can move mountains and oceans if I can move mountains and oceans if I I can move mountains and oceans if I want I can move mountains and oceans if I want to.
1. Organize what you want to say. 2. Plan the communication or conversation well ahead. 3. Communication is not just about what you say, but how you say it. 4. Always be clear and to the point. There is no need to over-elaborate. 5. Show how the person will benefit from the change. 6. Communication is a two-way process. You need to listen as much as you talk.
Coin fight
Convince your partner as to why you want the coin more desperately than he wants it.
Day 2
Meditation Presentation Parts of Speech
Statistics
We hear only half of what is said to us. (50%) We understand only half of that. (25%)
Parts of Speech The objective is to do away with stiff traditional definitions and introduce parts of speech with simple explanations
Parts of Speech
The different kinds of words that make up full sentences are known as parts of speech These terms come up frequently in the study of the sentence. They fall into 8 categories. Here is a list of them and their usual definitions to jog your memory. A noun names something. Shakespeare, cloud, advertisement A pronoun takes the place of a noun. you, her,I
A verb expresses action or refers to an event or a state of being. is, amaze, ensure, show, seem
Parts of Speech
An adjective qualifies-tells us something about a noun or a pronoun. beautiful, angry, strange, small, deliver.
An adverb qualifies a verb an adjective or another adverb. cleverly, very, usually, angrily, ago
A preposition shows a relation between a word and a noun (or a pronoun) that follows it. from, in, at, with, of, among, behind. A conjunction connects words or group of words and, but, although,or,yet An interjection express emotions acts as a signal or adds a conversational touch hey!wow!hello!well!oh!say!
NOUNS
Activity
Activity 1: Play Name, Place, Animal, Thing. Ask them to make 4 columns, with titles of Name Place, Animal, Thing. Choose any letter e.g. C. Give them a minute each to write the name of a person, place, animal, and thing starting with that letter. E.g Carol Calcutta Cat Chair Activity 2: Menu Card Ask the students to make a restaurant menu card
Today let us take on simple definitions in grammar like nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Many of you might think or feel that you already know about these, but will be surprised to know that even simple grammar keeps springing surprises on us.
Nouns
To explain in simple words, a noun is the name of a person, animal, place or thing.
The following are nouns -- mountains, tree, postman, cupboard,chair, apple, pen.
Types of Nouns
Concrete nouns are names of people and things we can touch or see. Nouns can also name things that cannot be seen or touched, but can be thought and felt. They express a quality, a state, a feeling or an action. Such nouns are called Abstract nouns. So an abstract noun is an IDEA, for example, honesty, childhood, happiness, bravery.
Concrete Nouns
1. Common Nouns (nouns of one class or kind) 2. Proper Nouns (special name) 3. Material Nouns (names of things from which other things are made) 4. Collective Nouns (a group of things considered as one) example chair, crow, flower.
Types of Nouns
Common Nouns - A Common noun always
begins with a small letter (unless it is at the beginning of a sentence). A common or general word. An example of the common noun - A girl and her dog played in the park.
The plumber is called John The nurse is called Nicky They come from a country called England They live in a county called Surrey John and Nicky drink coffee from Barista They eat burgers from McDonalds come from a country called England They live in a county called Surrey John and Nicky drink coffee from Starbucks They eat burgers from McDonalds
Collective Nouns
are the words used to define a group of people, animals or inanimate things. For example, in the phrase a "flock of geese" or a " pride of lions", flock and pride are collective nouns. There are many collective nouns that refer to animals. A group of people can be described as an army, company or audience.
A company of actors A swarm of bees A panel of experts A host of angels A deck of cards A banner of knights A colony of ants A herd of cows A coven of witches
Abstract Nouns
An abstract noun means the opposite to a concrete noun. If you cannot taste, touch, hear, smell or see something it is an abstract noun. Examples of abstract nouns are honesty, courage and loyalty.
Thought Creativity Loneliness Fairness Freedom Wisdom Revenge Loyalty Nature Communicatio nLove Hate Beauty Annoyance Education Pleasure Skill Courage
Proper, abstract & material nouns can have plural forms when they are used as common nouns. All of you must be aware that the most common form of forming a plural by adding an s to the noun. Eg: Hand - Hands House - Houses
Rules
Plural of the nouns ending in x sh or ch (a hissing sound) is formed by adding es at the end.
Eg: glass box brush bench - glasses - boxes - brushes - benches
Plural of the nouns ending in a y and having a consonant before y is formed by changing y into ies. Eg: army - armies lady - ladies baby - babies fly - flies
Rules
If there is a vowel before the y, we just add s to the noun to form its plural. Eg: monkey - monkeys boy - boys toy - toys donkey donkeys day - days key - keys
There are some nouns which are used in plural sense, though they look singular. Eg: These cattle (not cattles) These people These folk
Rules
Some nouns are used in singular form.
Eg: This scenery is beautiful. All this information was wrong. Furniture is sold here. Some nouns have the same form both in singular and plural. Eg: This deer. This sheep. This fish. These deer. These sheep. These fish.
Rules
Compound nouns form their plural by adding s to the important word. Eg: mother-in-law - mothers-in-law step-son step-sons passer-by - passers-by maid-servant - maid-servants.
Rules
Nouns which are used only in singular though they look like plurals.
Eg: The news is _____________ Physics is ______________ Mathematics is ___________ Politics is ________________ An innings ______________ A means _____________
Types of Nouns
Of these, common and collective nouns are Countable nouns . eg. Fruit, rabbit, box, pen, city, hero. These nouns have plural forms. They take on the adjectives e.g. few, many, several, one, two etc. eg. Several pages(plural) in the book are missing. Nouns that cannot be counted in no.s are called Uncountable nouns. e.g. rice, wool, sugar, water, soil, music, air, coffee etc. These nouns have no plural forms. They take on adjectives like much little or a little. They cannot be used with nos.
Choose the Countable and Uncountable Nouns from the following table
Apple
Star
Cloth
Freedo m
Furnitur e
Picture
Stone
Dirt
Paper
Class
Family
Milk
Shop
Pen
Tea
Poetry
Poem
Team
Iron
Glass
ADJECTIVES
An Adjective is a word which describes a noun. In other words, adjectives show the property of a noun.
Types of Adjectives
Descriptive Adjectives
1.1 Of what quality e.g A small boy Of what state e.g A careful girl
1.2
Proper Adjective
Made with proper nouns:
Quantitative Adjectives
Answer the question : how much and how many
Numeral Adjectives
Answer the question : how much and how many
Demonstrative Adjectives
Answer the question which
Distributive Adjectives
Show whether the noun that follows is taken singly or in separate lots. The four distributive adjectives are Each, Every, Either, Neither
Possessive Adjectives
Answer the question whose
e.g
Pronouns
Pronouns
I is the pronoun of the first person because it represents the person speaking You is the pronoun of the second person because it represents the person spoken to He, She, It are the pronouns of the third person because they represent the persons or things of whom we are speaking
Home Assignment
Exercise on Nouns Assignments on Types of Nouns
Day 3
Activity- 5 truths and a lie Story Building Test paper 2 Consonant Sounds
Activity
5 Truths and a lie
Test Paper 2
Consonants
The English consonant sounds are divided into: Voiced consonants Unvoiced consonants
VOICED CONSONANTS are those consonants sounds, which are produced and carried forward by the human voice. These sounds can be fully utilized to add resonance to the voice. UNVOICED CONSONANTS are consonant sounds that are produced without any human voice. Consonant sounds are produced by the partial or full interruption of the breath flow.
p, b, m, w
Home Assignment
Day 4
Verbs Activity Verbs and Tenses Card game Consonant Sounds
VERBS
Simon Says
One of the people is "it" i.e., Simon. The others must do what Simon tells them to do when asked with a phrase beginning with "Simon says". If Simon says "Simon says jump", the players must jump (players that do not jump are out). However, if Simon says simply "jump", without first saying "Simon says", players do not jump; those that do jump are out. In general, it is the spirit of the command, not the actions that matters; if Simon says "Simon says touch your toes", players only have to show that they are trying to touch their toes
About Verbs
A verb is a word which implies action or the doing of something, or it may be defined as a word which affirms, commands or asks a question. The simple form of the verb without inflection is called the root of the verb; e. g. love is the root of the verb "To Love."
About Verbs
Types of Verbs Regular Verbs A verb is said to be regular when it forms the past tense by adding 'ed' to the present or 'd' if the verb ends in 'e'. A verb is said to be irregular when its past tense does not end in 'ed' A transitive verb is one the action of which passes over to or affects some object; as "I struck the table." Here the action of striking affected the object table, hence struck is a transitive verb action remains with the subject; as "I walk," "I sit" or "I run". Many intransitive verbs, however, can be used transitively; thus, "I walk the horse;" walk is here transitive.
About Verbs
Verbs are inflected by number, person, tense and mood Number and person - as applied to the verb really belong to the
subject; they are used with the verb to denote whether the assertion is made regarding one or more than one and whether it is made in reference to the person speaking, the person spoken to or the person or thing spoken about.
Tense- In their tenses verbs follow the divisions of time. They have
present tense, past tense and future tense with their variations to express the exact time of action as to an event happening, having happened or yet to happen.
About Verbs
Verbs are inflected by number, person, tense and mood
The Mood of a verb denotes the mode or manner in which it is used. Thus if it is used in its widest sense without reference to person or number, time or place, it is in the Infinitive Mood; as "To run." Here we are not told who does the running, when it is done, where it is done or anything about it.
About Verbs
A verb, as we all know, shows action. It also tells us the time of action. The verb tells us whether the action has already taken place, is taking place or will take please. To show the time in which the action is taking place, sometimes several verbs are put together. Ex: The fly sits on the fruit. here the verb tells us what is happening in the present or what happens from time to time(present tense). Ex: The fly sat on the fruit. Here the verb consists of one word and tells us of the action that took place in the past (past tense)
Ex: The fly will sit on the fruit. Here it consists of 2 verbs will sit. To show what will happen in the future, the verb sit takes on the helping verb will (future tense)
About Verbs
A verb does two things in a sentence. It shows the action ( ex-works) or the state of being (ex is,was) of the subject. The boy walks to school The flower is beautiful It shows the time of the action(the tense) Ex: The boy walked to school
About Verbs
The Simple tense This tense shows the present, past or future of the action in its simplest form. He goes to school. (simple present tense) He wants to go to school. (simple present tense) He will go to school. (simple future tense)
About Verbs
Let us examine the verb in a simple tense.
eg:
The peon rings the bell. (every hour or every day) The earth goes round the sun. We eat every day. Mother visits the temple daily.
Here, the simple tense of the verb shows routine work, a permanent truth or habit.
About Verbs
The thing to be noted is that the verb ends with an s in a simple present tense if the subject is he, she or it. Eg: The minister brings a brief case to the office. She sings in a melodious voice
When the word have is used to mean possession we use has for he, she or it, and have for other subjects.
E.g: I have a pen We have pens She has a pen He has a pen
About Verbs
The Continuous tense shows that the action (in present, past and future) is still continuing or not yet complete.
eg: He is selling the product. (present continuous) He was selling the product (past continuous) He will be selling the product (future continuous) This is also called Imperfect tense because it shows an action which is incomplete or imperfect.
About Verbs
The Perfect tense shows that an action is in a completed or perfect state.
eg: I have done my work
Present Tense
She has done her work I had done my work
Past Perfect
She had done her work I shall have done my work
Future Perfect
He will have done his work
About Verbs
The Simple Past tense is used to describe actions and states in the past that are complete in themselves. Verbs in this tense usually go with the adverb (adverbial phrases) like yesterday, last week, (month year) an hour ago, in 1942, etc. Eg: I found a pen yesterday. We drove to Bangalore last week. You arrived here last year. India won freedom in 1947. The agent came here a few minutes ago.
About Verbs
The verb be takes these forms. The Past Continuous Tense. This tense shows that the action was going on for some time in the past. It also shows what was happening for a period of time before the action was completed. If two actions occurred at the same time, we use the past continuous tense to describe one of them.
E.g : I was reading the newspaper when the postman rang the bell.
The continuous tense takes a helping verb to show the tense. They are is, am, are, was, were, being. Eg: The boys were playing when mother called them.
Tenses
Simple
Present
I love He loves They love
Continuous
I am loving He is loving They are loving
Perfect
I am loved He is loved They are loved
Perfect Continuous
I am being loved He is being loved They are being loved I had been loving He had been loving They had been loving
Past
Future
I shall have loved He shall have loved They shall have loved
I shall have been loving He shall have been loving They shall have been loving
Guessing game
Pack of cards with words
Home Assignment
Exercise on Verbs Assignments
These sounds are produced by biting the lower lip with the help of the upper teeth.
Day 5
Meditation
ADVERBS
Activity Passing the Bottle
An Adverb is a word which modifies the meaning of a Verb, an Adjective or another Adverb
An Adverb
For example :
An Adverb
For example :
An Adverb
For example :
Kinds of Adverbs
Adverbs of Time
Which shows when :
I have heard this before. We shall now begin to work. He comes here daily.
Adverbs of Place
Which shows where :
Adverbs of Frequency
Which shows how often :
Adverbs Of Degree
Which shows how much or to what extent :
Adverbs of Manner
Which shows how or in what manner :
Rashmi reads clearly. The story is well written. The boy works hard.
Adverbs of Reason
s,z
s - 1. Front teeth closed together 2. Tongue flat BEHIND both sets of teeth 3. Release continuous flow of air. z - Same as s, but with vibration.
the
Same as th, but with vibration instead of air flow.
(Like z with the tongue between the teeth.)
l
1. Keep tip of tongue behind front upper teeth, and curl tongue up towards palate so front quarter of tongue is in contact with palate, not just tip.
Day 6
Extempore Speech
PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions
The book is the desk. -- this statement doesnt make any sense The book is on the desk the word ON shows the relationship between the desk and the book. The book can also be in the desk, under the desk or besides the desk.
Prepositions
A preposition connects words, clauses, and sentences together and shows the relation between them. "My hand is on the table" shows relation between hand and table. Prepositions are so called because they are generally placed before the words whose connection or relation with other words they point out. Examples of common English Prepositions: above, after, behind, during, from, toward and until
Conjunctions
A conjunction joins words, clauses and sentences; as "John and James." "My father and mother have come, but I have not seen them.". A conjunction is used to link words, phrases, and clauses Conjunctions are so called because they are generally placed before the words whose connection or relation with other words they point out. Examples of common English Conjunctions: and, also; either, or; neither, nor; but, however
Conjunctions
And Or But Nor So For Yet After Although As As If As Long As Because Before Even If Even Though Once Since So That Though Till Unless Until What When Whenever Wherever Whether While
Coffee Pot
Activity
sh
Same as ch, j with a continuous flow of air.
zh
Same placement as sh, but with voice.
y
Same as zh, but jaws slightly apart, not touching.
Day 7
Meditation Extempore
Syllables
A unit of spoken language consisting of a single uninterrupted sound formed by a vowel, diphthong, or syllabic consonant alone, or by any of these sounds preceded, followed, or surrounded by one or more consonants.
Syllable Stress
-ology Biology Sociology Technology Astrology Theology Gastronomy Monotony -tion Station Relation Production Specializatio n Amortization -lity Ability Facility Utility Capability Comprehens ibility Complexity Simplicity Calamity Activity Community Clarity -ic/-ics Physics Dynamic Logistics Statistics Gymnastics -ical Practical Physical Critical Statistical Logical
Syllable Stress
-ically -ial -ially Financially Essentially Substantially Commerciall y -ious -meter
Alphabet Game
Activity
Vowels
Vowel sounds can be categorized into: Lip vowels & Tongue vowels
LIP VOWELS are those vowel sounds that are crafted by the shaping of the lips. Lip vowels are:
Aa - aw - oh - oo
TONGUE VOWELS are vowel sounds that are made by the movement of the tongue. Aa - ay - ee - I
Vowel Sounds
oh boat coat chose don't phone goes hole Joke crow low moan note oh boat coat chose don't phone goes hole Joke crow low moan note aw bought caught chalk dot fought gauze hall jock crawl lost morn not ow bout clout chow doubt found grouse howl jowl crowd loud mount now ae bat cat chat dad fat gas Hal Jack crab lad mat gnat ay bait crate chaste date fate gaze hail Jake crate late mate Nate ee beat keel cheese deed feet geese heel jeep creep lead meat neat I bite kite chide diet fight guise hire jive crime light might night
Diphthongs
A complex speech sound or glide that begins with one vowel and gradually changes to another vowel within the same syllable, as (oi) in boil or () in fine.
Tile
Toil
Tale
Towel
Tier
Sign
Soil
Sail
Sound
Seer
Abide
Avoid
Evade
Avowed
Day 8
Articles Interjection Free Speech
Articles
Articles
An Article is a word placed before a noun to show whether the noun is used in a particular or general sense. There are two articles, a or an and the. Whenever you see an article, you will find a noun with it A or an is called the indefinite article because it does not point out any particular person or thing but indicates the noun in its widest sense; therefore a man means any man whatsoever of the species or race.
Application
Examples: a dog or an apple or an orange. The word 'An' is used when the next word begins with a vowel or a silent (unpronounced) h, as in an elephant or an hour. Some rules regarding the word 'an' prior to a word beginning with H. The 'H' is never pronounced before honour, hour, heir, honest and herb.
Interjection
An interjection is a word used to express some sudden emotion of the mind Examples: "Ah! there he comes" and "Alas! what shall I do?" The word 'ah' expresses surprise, and the word 'alas' expresses distress.
Nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs become interjections when they are uttered as exclamations Examples OF interjections: nonsense! strange! hail! away! etc.
Day 9
Noun-Verb Change Word Stress-Emphasis US-UK Free Speech
Noun-Verb Change
NOUN
an accent a conflict a contest a contract a contrast a convict a desert a discharge an envelope an incline an insert an insult an object a permit a present produce progress a project a rebel a recall a record a reject a subject a survey a suspect
VERB
to accent to conflict to contest to contract to contrast to convict to desert to discharge to envelope to incline to insert to insult to object to permit to present to produce to progress to project to rebel to recall to record to reject to subject to survey to suspect
His Scottish accent, accented his English. The conflict was caused due to the conflicting interests between the two parties. I contest judgment for the contest. The new contract, contracted the term to 2 years. In contrast, the two brothers have personalities that contrast greatly. The convict was convicted for 12 years of hard labor. Sam deserted Denise in the desert where she ate her dessert. The discharge was green when it was discharged from his body during surgery. She took the envelope from his hands and enveloped him in a bear hug. I am inclined to believe that she pushed him off the incline! Please insert an insert in tomorrow's newspaper. Greg insulted the court by hurling an insult at his opponent. The object of our discussion objects to being manhandled. Please permit me to go and get the travel permit made. They presented Michael with his birthday present at midnight when he was present. Due to the drought, the fields didn't produce much produce this year. We need to progress faster to be able to match up to the progress made last year. The project head projects a 3-fold rise in the next quarter. She rebelled against her parents by establishing the Teen Rebel Force. Do you recall the email that he recalled? She recorded the dates from the records they had kept. She rejected the rejects from the previous interviews. The subject was subjected to a harrowing experience while traveling to work. In the Survey, they had to survey the number of tax payers in each family. I suspect that the suspect left town last Wednesday.
Intonation
Word Stress
I didnt say he stole the money. Someone else said it. I didnt say he stole the money. Thats not true at all. I didnt say he stole the money. I only suggested the possibility. I didnt say he stole the money. I think someone else took it. I didnt say he stole the money. Maybe he just borrowed it. I didnt say he stole the money, but rather some other money. I didnt say he stole the money. He may have taken some jewelry.
Word Stress
1. Im going to the store. (I am, Not you) 2. I am going to the store. (Are you going? Yes, I am) 3. I am going to the store. (Have you gone to the storeNo I am going now) 4. I am going to the store. (Not coming From it) 5. I am going to the store. (Not some other store) 6. I am going to the store. (Not the mall)
US-UK Exercise
Points to remember The Uk has a stiff upper lip and they tend to be stiff with their pronunciations, unlike the US. The US roll their Rs The oh sound is replaced by the ah sound In UK when the r appears at the end it is usually dropped. Eg father In Uk a y is placed in front of few vowel sounds while the US pronounce without it eg New York, assume, duke, due
Day 10
Sounds Recap Extempore Final Assessment
There are certain words which have a particular letter or letters that are silent and therefore the pronunciation of the word is different.
Example
B Silent in words like D - Silent in words like Judge Edge
Scene Scent
Example
GH Silent in words like K- Silent in words like Know Knee
Hour Honor
Example
N Silent in words like U- Silent in words like
Autumn
P - Silent in words like Psychology Pneumonia
Select a topic and try to speak about it for at least a minute in front of the mirror.